Nylon sprinkler head



April 1961 c. THORREZ 2,979,272

NYLON SPRINKLER HEAD Filed May 15, 1957 i 5 a a 5 5 i 5 1' l 32 I8INVENTOR 7 [AM/A2 $902952 ATTORNEY United States Patent NYLON SPRINKLERHEAD Camiel Thorrez, 2001 Spring Arbor Road, Jackson, Mich. Filed May15, 1957 Ser. No. 659,236 1 Claim. (21. 239-259 The invention relates toa sprinkler head, particularly to a reaction driven rotatable headconstructed of nylon and other non-corroding material.

Lawn sprinklers are subject to adverse weather conditions inasmuch asthe sprinklers are often left out of doors during use and areintermittently subjected to water which promotes accumulation of rust,and often after one or two seasons usage the rust, dirt and wear of therotating parts renders the sprinkler inoperative.

It is, thus, an object of the invention to provide a noncorrodingreaction type sprinkler head which will not corrode and may easily bedisassembled for cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to design a rotatable sprinkler headof nylon wherein the components may be economically manufactured andwater pressure is utilized to maintain sealing between the rotating andstationary elements.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent when theinvention is reviewed with respect to the following description andaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a detailelevational view, partly in cross section, of theinvention,

Fig. 2 is a cross section elevational view of a modification of theinvention, and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a complete sprinkler, utilizing thehead of the invention, placed in a lawn.

The basic components of a sprinkler utilizing the head of the inventionare best shown in Fig. 3 wherein the sprinkler may be positioned uprightin a lawn by stake 12 which is pushed into the soil. A coupling 14provides the means whereby a conventional garden hose 16 maybe attachedto supply the sprinkler with water. The base pipe 18 extends fromcoupling 14 and mounts the head 20 from which arms 22 protrude, thewater is ejected from the arms 22 through the nozzles 29.

The details of the sprinkler are best shown in Fig. 1 wherein it isapparent that the coupling 14 is internally bored and threaded toreceive the hose connection. The

7 base pipe 18 is threaded into a bore 26 formed in coupling 14 whichcommunicates with the interior of coupling 14. Pipe 18 may be of anydesired length to suit the size area to be watered, e.g. the longer thepipe 18, the larger the area covered by the sprinkler, other factorsbeing constant. Pipe 18 is provided with an internally threaded adapter28 at the upper end forming means for attaching the sprinkler head 20.

The head 20 consists of a tubular pivot member 30 which is threaded at32 for connection with the adapter 28 and at the upper end is formedwith a flange 34. The underside of flange 34 may be machined to producea smooth surface for reasons that will later be apparent.

The rotatable portions of head 20 consist of a cylindrical housing 36which is closed at the upper end 38 and internally threaded at the lowerend 40. As will be noted in Fig. 1 the upper end 38 is of bulbousconfiguration and is provided with thick walls into which the arms 22may be threaded and adequately supported. A tubu- 2,979,272 PatentedApr. 11, 1961 lar sleeve 42 threaded at the upper end, cooperates withthreads 40 to hold the housing 36 on the pivot member 30. Sleeve 42encircles member 30, the internal diameter of sleeve 30 being greaterthan the outside diameter of member 30 enough to provide a running fit.The upper end 44 of sleeve 30 is faced off square and engages theunderside of flange 34 during operation.

The shape and construction of'pivot member 30, housing 36 and sleeve 42permits these, elements to be easily manufactured from bar nylon orother types of plastic which are machinable in lathes and automaticscrew machines. Nylon or plastic construction of a sprinkler headof thistype will not react with water, dirt, or other agents forming corrosion,rust or other deleterious matter which would interfere with theoperation of the sprinkler.

The tubular arms 22 are also constructed of nylon or plastic and arebent at 46 near the outer end. The nozzles 29 .are threaded forattachment to the arms and are formed with the slot 48 which dispersesthe water stream. The arms 22 are screwed into housing such that thewater stream is directed slightly upward and the bent portions 46 causethe reaction of the water leaving the nozzles to have tangential forcevectors rotating the housing 36 and sleeve 42.

During operation the water pressure within chamber 50 will tend to liftthe housing 36 off the pivot member 30, this reaction will bring theedge 44 of sleeve 42 into engagement with the underside of flange 34 asin Fig. 1. Thus, a seal is achieved between the stationary and rotatingelements of the sprinkler head 20. The water within chamber 50 will actas the lubricant and very little wear will occur at the flange or edge44.

A modification of a sprinkler head employing the concepts of theinvention is shown in Fig. 2 wherein it will be noted that thedistinction over the disclosure of Fig. 1 lies in the pivot member 52.Pivot 52 is constructed of a metallic tube, preferably of brass, bronzeor aluminum, which will not react with water to form a heavy corrosionsuch as rust. The stop of pivot 52 is flanged at 54 whereby the sleeve42' may contact the underside of -the flange forming a seal. As in Fig.l the sleeve 42, housing 36 and arm 22 are constructed of nylon orplastic and are assembled and function as described above.

It will thus be apparent that the disclosed sprinkler constructionpermits a rotatable reaction type sprinkler head to be economicallyproduced from nylon or plastic bar stock resulting in a long wearingnon-corrosive device. By utilizing the water pressure to maintain thefluid seal between the stationary and rotating members of the head thesealing action is self-maintained and automatically compensates forwear.

I claim:

Arotatable reaction type sprinkler comprising in combination, a stakeadapted to be inserted into the ground, a hose fitting having aninternal chamber aflixed to said stake, rigid conduit means affixed tosaid fitting in communication with said chamber, a tubular pivot memberafflxed at one end to said conduit in communicating therewith, anannular radially extending flange integrally formed on and defining theother end of said pivot memher and provided with a sealing surface, atubular uniformly cylindrical sleeve axially movable and rotatablysupported on said pivot member below said flange, one end of said sleevebeing provided with a sealing surface adapted to engage the sealingsurface of said flange durchamber is parallel to the axial movement ofsaid sleeve, tubular conduit arms supported on said housing incommunication with said chamber, and nozzle means affixed to the ends ofsaid arms, said pivot member, sleeve, housing, arms and nozzle meansbeing formed of a thermoplastic polyamide resin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS457,099 Woolsey Aug. 4, 1891 1,202,787 Bradshaw Oct. 31, 1916 1,949,904Guedel Mar. 6, 1934 4 Barksdale July 6, 1943 Keep Sept. 15, 1953 Wilsonet a1 Apr. 12, 1955 Spender Nov. 6, 1956 Wiebe May 28, 1957 Voss Sept.3, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Nylon in Bearings and Gears, ProductEngineering, 10 July 1931 (page 107 relied on).

Designing Fabricated Nylon Parts, Machine Design, March 1954 (pages153-159 relied on).

